The Justice Department received 458 complaints alleging civil liberties
or civil rights violations committed by Justice Department employees
since the enactment of the USA PATRIOT Act, according to the first
semi-annual report to Congress on the subject from the Department's
Inspector General. The report was transmitted to Congress yesterday.

The complaints, filed between October 26, 2001 and June 15, 2002,
included allegations of excessive force, illegal detention, detention
without access to an attorney, and detention under adverse conditions.

The Justice Office of Inspector General opened nine investigations of
allegations of Patriot Act-related civil rights and civil liberties
abuses, according to the new report.

Furthermore, a systemic evaluation of the treatment of post-September
11 detainees is underway, and a public report is anticipated by
October of this year, the 18 page report said.

A copy of the Inspector General's "Report to Congress on Implementation
of Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act," dated July 15, is posted
here:

"Homeland security officials need quick, complete access to information
relevant to the protection of physical and cyber critical
infrastructure. We must meet this need by narrowly limiting public
disclosure of such information in order to facilitate its voluntary
submission without compromising the principles of openness that ensure
government accountability." (p. 48)

JUDGE REBUKES OFFICIALS IN ENERGY TASK FORCE CASE

A federal judge last week chastised Bush Administration officials for
their unwarranted attempt at "aggrandizement of Executive power." The
unusually harsh rebuke was published in the latest ruling in a lawsuit
brought by the Sierra Club and Judicial Watch seeking disclosure of
information concerning the Vice President's Energy Task Force.

Administration officials "have repeatedly invoked an incorrect
constitutional standard in this case, a standard that would increase
Executive power at the expense of the other branches of government,"
wrote U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan in his July 11 decision. (pp.
55-6)

The government's extreme position, Judge Sullivan said, would render
the Freedom of Information Act and other open government laws
unconstitutional.

"Clearly, this is not the law. Such a ruling would eviscerate the
understanding of checks and balances between the three branches of
government on which our constitutional order depends." (p. 64)

The 1967 Israeli attack on the American spy ship U.S.S. Liberty, which
resulted in the deaths of 34 American sailors, remains a source of
grief as well as controversy, with some critics claiming that the
Israeli attack could only have been deliberate.

That claim is systematically rebutted by A. Jay Cristol in his new book
"The Liberty Incident." The book, which relies on primary sources and
interviews with the principals to a greater extent than any previous
work on the topic, concludes that the attack was "a tragic accident."

See "Book Sees Answers to '67 Israeli Attack on U.S. Spy Ship," by
Elinor J. Brecher in the July 15 Miami Herald:

Critics, such as Liberty survivor LCDR James Ennes, are not convinced.
Cristol's research is "a flawed work, packed with evasions and
misleading statements," Ennes wrote recently. "Cristol seems to
accept at face value all the arguments that support his case, while he
nitpicks, dismisses and ignores entirely the eyewitness reports of
survivors and other supporting evidence."

See "The U.S.S. Liberty: Still Covered Up After 35 Years" by LCDR Ennes
here:

In an unusually aggressive government action, State Department security
personnel physically detained National Review reporter Joel Mowbray
last Friday while they attempted to determine if he was in possession
of a classified cable that he had cited at a Department press
briefing.

"The cable was classified," acknowledged National Review editor Rich
Lowry, "but contained nothing sensitive to national security, just a
politically embarrassing policy recommendation." See Lowry's July 15
letter of protest to the State Department here:

"The fact is that anybody in this building, whether you're me or a
reporter or some other visitor, who has a classified cable is not
allowed to leave the building with it except under appropriate
security procedures, and it's our guards' responsibility to make sure
that people don't do that," Mr. Boucher said.

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld renewed his warning that
leaks of classified information, which "we continue to see on a daily
basis," are damaging national security.

See "Rumsfeld Says Leaks to Media Aid Al Qaeda," by Esther Schrader in
the July 16 Los Angeles Times:

Secrecy News is written by Steven Aftergood and published by the Federation of American Scientists.

To SUBSCRIBE to Secrecy News, send email to [email protected] with this command in the body of the message:
subscribe secrecy_news [your email address]
To UNSUBSCRIBE, send email to [email protected] with this command in the body of the message:
unsubscribe secrecy_news [your email address]
OR email your request to [email protected]